We have watched with alarm as the past few years in America have been marked by an atmosphere of violence, social unrest, and inequality. Artists have been in the vanguard of responding to such injustice in issues of racial and economic inequality, discrimination based on sexuality and gender expression, state and other violence, climate emergencies, immigration struggles and other activity that oppresses and renders invisible entire dispossessed communities.

RALLY: Queer Art and Activism Now highlights the engaged, creative, and visionary approaches that this group of artists has brought to bear by making visible the struggle to push the country to be better, more fair, and more respectful of all. The exhibition includes work by Camilo Godoy, Kristen Haskell, Gabriel Garcia Roman, Tinted Justice, and WERRRQSHOP.

There are three senses of the word “RALLY” that served as building blocks for this exhibition. There is “rally” in the sense of a march, a manifestation, a physical coming together of engaged protesters and activists. We are also influenced by “rally” as a verb: activists reaching out to bring others into their engaged fold, recruiting more colleagues and allies for political action. The third meaning is more metaphorical: The sense of someone rallying themself, someone going through a struggle and transcending it to pull themself together and move beyond it, refusing to stay down after being knocked down.

The powerful, engaged, activist artists we have rallied for this exhibition do important work, and we can help to improve the country for everyone if we pay attention and follow their lead.